Amateur WinnerNatasha Kharlamova on behalf of Our Sunny World:Our Sunny World - The essay is about Maxim, a 14-year-old who has a severe form of cerebral paralysis, and about his connection with people around him as he is supported by Our Sunny World, a rehabilitation center for disabled children in Russia.

Photo: Natasha Kharlamova, Photophilanthropy.org

Amateur WinnerNatasha Kharlamova on behalf of Our Sunny World:Our...

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Student Finalists: Dijana Muminovic on behalf of The Missing Person Institute: Beneath My Land is a story about Lake Perucac, which was flooded before survivors were able to exhume the bodies of their loved ones killed and thrown in the lake during the Serbian aggression on Bosnia. Because most of the massacred during the Bosnian war were men, many of the mass funerals today are attended largely by women who come to mourn their husbands, brothers, and sons who were killed in the early 1990s. More than 100,000 people were killed in Bosnia, thousands were found in mass graves, and 500 mass graves have been discovered.

Photo: Dijana Muminovic, PhotoPhilanthropy.org

Student Finalists: Dijana Muminovic on behalf of The Missing Person...

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Professional Finalists 2: Sara Anjargolian on behalf of Tufenkian Foundation: How We Live documents the face of poverty in Armenia as told through the personal stories of families living along the margins of society Ð people living off garbage dumps, children battling malnutrition, alcoholism and domestic violence becoming commonplace, and tin shacks serving as homes. This is where Gohar bathes. Gohar, 8, is a withdrawn little girl who has trouble making friends at school and often wets her bed at night. Her mother Narineh attributes GoharÕs fragile emotional state to the break up of their family and the state of poverty the family is now facing. GoharÕs father was an abusive alcoholic who routinely beat and raped GoharÕs mother Narineh. After leaving her husband, Narineh is now struggling to feed and clothe Gohar and her three siblings. Armenia, 2009.

Photo: Sara Anjargolian, PhotoPhilanthropy.org

Professional Finalists 2: Sara Anjargolian on behalf of Tufenkian...

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Student Winner: Kai Lšffelbein on behalf of Society for Community Organization: Hidden Hong Kong - With a population of more than seven million, Hong Kong is one of the planetÕs most densely packed metropolitan areas. Unscrupulous landlords charge around US$200 a month for a cage, which is packed 20 to a room. Hong Kong More than 300,000 people in Hong Kong are currently waiting for public housing. And although the average waiting time is three years, many wait in cramped spaces for as many as 10 years. Two residents in their cage home appartment. Landlords charge around US$200 for a cage a month.

Photo: Kai Loeffelbein, PhotoPhilanthropy.org

Student Winner: Kai Lšffelbein on behalf of Society for Community...

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Professional Finalist 1: Gwenn Dubourthoumieuon behalf of The Carter Center: Copper Eaters - In the Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, proven copper reserves and granted mining titles are counted in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Yet the average revenue for the DRC is negligible when compared to the million dollar profits mining companies generate. The sorting and whashing of the ore, considered light work, are usualy left for women and children.

Photo: Gwenn Dubourthoumieuon, PhotoPhilanthropy.org

Professional Finalist 1: Gwenn Dubourthoumieuon behalf of The...

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Professional Finalists 2: Sara Anjargolian on behalf of Tufenkian Foundation: How We Live documents the face of poverty in Armenia as told through the personal stories of families living along the margins of society Ð people living off garbage dumps, children battling malnutrition, alcoholism and domestic violence becoming commonplace, and tin shacks serving as homes. Ani, 12, with her favorite doll, and her father Senik Garabedian. Senik, his wife, and their four children, live in this two-room tin and wood shack in Geghard village in Armenia. The lack of heating in their shack during the winter, when temperatures dip below freezing, and the family's inability to afford fire wood, caused Ani to contract a serious respiratory illness. She began coughing up blood and the illness soon spread to her heart. Her parents tried to find a doctor who would perform the surgery Ani needed to get well, but were turned away repeatedly because they could not pay for the surgery. At one hospital, Ani was put under anesthesia in preparation for surgery, but when the surgeon found out that her family was unable to pay, Ani was sent home in a semi-conscious state. A non-profit organization finally intervened and arranged for AniÕs surgery. Impoverished families in Armenia are often denied basic medical treatments when they are unable to pay for the care they need. Geghard village, Armenia, 2009.

Here are some of the entries of the 2012 PhotoPhilanthropy Activist Awards for outstanding documentary photography on behalf of nonprofit organizations worldwide. PhotoPhilanthropy addresses critical social issues by providing nonprofits and photographers with the resources to work together to create images that drive social change. The prizes for the awards range from $2,000 to $15,000. In the three years since the awards were introduced, there have been more than 500 submissions from 88 countries. This year, there were 223 submissions.

The winning entries and other submissions to the Activist Awards also will be considered for inclusion in PhotoPhilanthropy's exhibition program and the Library of Congress collection of photographs. In 2012, PhotoPhilanthropy held an exhibition at the United Nations in New York.